U.S. patent application number 10/511340 was filed with the patent office on 2005-10-27 for drying cabinet comprising a cleaning device.
Invention is credited to Binder, Mathias.
Application Number | 20050235518 10/511340 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29220546 |
Filed Date | 2005-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050235518 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Binder, Mathias |
October 27, 2005 |
Drying cabinet comprising a cleaning device
Abstract
A drying system includes a drying cabinet having a plurality of
horizontally heating plates, and a cleaning device which can be
inserted into the interior of the cabinet. The cleaning device
includes a carrier supported on the interior bottom of the drying
cabinet and having a duct and a plurality of horizontal support
arms with a cavity being fastened to the carrier, each cavity
communicating with the duct. A support arm is arranged above each
of the heating plates. Each of the support arms is outfitted with a
spray arm which is rotatable horizontally around an axis A. Each
spray arm has a quantity of nozzles. In addition, the carrier and
the drying cabinet have means through which a cleaning agent can be
supplied to the duct.
Inventors: |
Binder, Mathias;
(US) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Thomas C Pontani
Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavene
551 Fifth Avenue
Suite 1210
New York
NY
10176
US
|
Family ID: |
29220546 |
Appl. No.: |
10/511340 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
April 8, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CH03/00226 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
34/202 ;
34/380 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F26B 5/06 20130101; F26B
25/00 20130101; F26B 5/044 20130101; B08B 3/02 20130101; B08B
9/0936 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
034/202 ;
034/380 |
International
Class: |
F26B 019/00; F26B
025/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 16, 2002 |
CH |
0633/02 |
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. A drying system comprising a drying cabinet and a cleaning
device, the drying cabinet comprising an interior having a top, a
bottom, and a plurality of heating plates arranged horizontally
between the top and the bottom to form a plurality of intermediate
spaces, the drying device comprising: a vertical carrier having a
duct; a plurality of support arms extending horizontally from the
carrier into respective said intermediate spaces, each support arm
having a cavity which communicates with the duct; and a plurality
of spray arms rotatably mounted on respective said support arms,
each said spray arm having a plurality of nozzles connected to a
respective said cavity.
11. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein at least one of said
nozzles on each said spray arm is mounted to spray liquid at an
acute angle with respect to a horizontal plane, thereby caused said
spray arm to rotate when water is being sprayed.
12. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein the carrier is fixed in
the drying cabinet.
13. A drying system as in claim 12 wherein the carrier is mounted
in a corner of the drying cabinet.
14. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein the carrier is removable
from the drying cabinet.
15. A drying system as in claim 14 further comprising a
transporting device having couplings which engage the carrier.
16. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein each said spray arm has
a first leg having nozzles which spray upward and a second leg
having nozzles which spray downward, said second leg being radially
opposite and above said first leg.
17. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein each said spray arm has
radially opposed ends, each said end having a nozzle which sprays
substantially horizontally.
18. A drying system as in claim 10 further comprising a nozzle
arranged on the axis of rotation of the spray arm.
19. A drying system as in claim 10 wherein the spray arms are
mounted for rotation about a common vertical axis.
Description
[0001] The invention is directed to a drying cabinet of the type
indicated in the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] Drying cabinets of the kind mentioned above are used, for
example, for drying pharmaceutical or chemical products or foods
such as milk, proteins, soups, fruits, vegetables and the like.
Drying is often carried out under vacuum and the drying cabinets
are designed accordingly.
[0003] These drying cabinets become soiled in operation and this
dirt must be eliminated by cleaning. Formerly, this was performed
manually; but guidelines have existed for some time which can only
be met when cleaning devices are provided whose operation can be
documented.
[0004] A drying cabinet of the type indicated in the preamble of
claim 1 is known from DE-C1-198 08 408. Its upper wall has a pipe
connection piece which can be closed in a vacuum-tight manner, a
cleaning device being insertable into the interior of the drying
cabinet through this pipe connection piece. This cleaning device,
which is driven by a motor, has jets or nozzles through which the
cleaning fluid can be sprayed into the individual tiers of the
drying cabinet. The jet of cleaning agent exits the nozzle
horizontally. Because the nozzle is swivelable horizontally, the
jet can also reach the corners of the interior of the drying
cabinet.
[0005] A drying cabinet which is outfitted with a stationary
cleaning device is known from DE-A1-100 28 895. Pipes arranged on
both sides of the shelves have a plurality of nozzles through which
the cleaning agent can be sprayed onto the individual shelves.
[0006] DE-C1-36 09 115 discloses a baking oven having a device for
supplying expanded wet steam. Further, there is a rinsing device by
means of which suds can be introduced into the baking chamber
through spray nozzles.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,172 discloses a washing device for
transfer carts and EP-A2-1 055 462 discloses a device for cleaning
germination decks. Further, a drying device is known from U.S. Pat.
No. 6,158,146.
[0008] It is the object of the invention to provide a drying
cabinet with a cleaning device whose cleaning action is further
improved compared to the previously known prior art.
[0009] This object is met according to the invention through the
features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments of the
invention are indicated in the dependent claims.
[0010] Embodiment examples of the invention are described more
fully in the following with reference to the drawings.
[0011] FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a drying cabinet
with a view of a cleaning device;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a horizontal section with a top view of the
cleaning device;
[0013] FIG. 3 shows details of a spray arm;
[0014] FIG. 4 shows a device for transporting the cleaning
device;
[0015] FIG. 5 shows a drying cabinet with integrated cleaning
device; and
[0016] FIG. 6 shows a variant of a spray arm.
[0017] In FIG. 1, which shows a vertical section through a drying
cabinet with a view of a cleaning device, a drying cabinet in its
entirety is designated by 1. This drying cabinet 1 comprises a
housing cube 2 which is open on one side and which can be closed on
the open side by a door 3. When the drying cabinet 1 is designed as
a vacuum drying cabinet, a seal, not shown, is fastened to the door
3. The interior of the drying cabinet 1 is designated by 4. This
interior 4 is subdivided by heating plates 5 which are designed as
shelves upon which product trays 6 can be placed. These product
trays 6 are removable. Therefore, they can be cleaned outside of
the drying cabinet 1 in a particularly efficient manner. Only one
of the product trays 6, that on the topmost heating plate 5, is
shown. All product trays 6 are removed from the drying cabinet 1
when cleaning work is performed on the drying cabinet 1; for this
reason, the one product tray 6 is indicated in dashed lines to show
its position. The bottom of the drying cabinet 1 can also contain a
heating plate 5.
[0018] A cleaning device 10 is inserted into the drying cabinet 1.
This cleaning device 10 is either arranged in a stationary manner
in the drying cabinet 1 or can advantageously be inserted into and
then removed from the drying cabinet 1. This is shown again in
detail. When the cleaning device 10 is removable, it can be used
successively for a plurality of drying cabinets 1. This economizes
on capital investment because only one cleaning device 10 need be
procured for a large number of drying cabinets.
[0019] The cleaning device 10 comprises a support or carrier 11 to
which is attached a plurality of horizontal support arms 12. The
quantity of support arms 12 is equal to the quantity of
intermediate spaces between the top of the interior space 4, the
heating plates 5 and the bottom of the interior space 4 of the
drying cabinet 1. A spray arm 13 which rotates around the vertical
axis A is rotatably arranged at each of the support arms 12. Every
spray arm 13 is outfitted with a quantity of nozzles 14. These
nozzles 14 are so constructed in a known manner that the liquid jet
exits at an inclination to the longitudinal axis of the spray arm
13 so that the spray arm 13 is set in rotation about the axis A by
the recoil of the spray jet. Accordingly, a motorized drive unit of
the spray arm 13 can be dispensed with. The carrier 11 has a duct
15 in its interior through which the cleaning agent reaches the
support arms 12 and then, through cavities 16 in the support arms
12, arrives at the spray arms 13.
[0020] In the present embodiment example, the carrier 11 is
supported on the interior bottom of the drying cabinet 1. It can be
fixedly mounted thereon or can simply rest upon this interior base
so that it can be removed. Other solutions are possible within the
framework of the invention; for example, supporting on the heating
plates 5, e.g., the topmost heating plate 5, or supporting in guide
rails at the two side walls of the interior space 4 of the drying
cabinet 1.
[0021] The carrier 11 has an opening 20 through which the cleaning
agent can enter into the duct 15. The cleaning agent which can be
supplied in this way then travels through the duct 15 to the
cavities 16 of the individual support arms 12 and arrives at the
interior of the individual spray arms 13, through whose nozzles 14
it can be sprayed into the interior 4 of the drying cabinet 1.
[0022] A closable bore hole in the bottom of the drying cabinet 1
through which the cleaning agent can flow is known from DE-C1-198
08 408 but is not shown.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a horizontal section through the drying cabinet
1 with a top view of the cleaning device 10. Also shown is a top
view of a support arm 12 which is connected to the carrier 11 and a
spray arm 13 which is fastened to the support arm 12 so as to be
rotatable around the axis A. The spray arm 13 has nozzles 14. On
one of the legs of the spray arm 13, the nozzles 14 lie on top and
so are indicated in FIG. 2 by solid lines, whereas on the other leg
they are arranged on the underside and are therefore shown in
dashed lines. The rotation of the spray arm 13 around the axis A is
indicated by an arrow.
[0024] The opening 20 in the carrier 11 is also shown. A connection
piece 21 adjoins this opening 20 and is connected at the other side
to a pipe guide-through 22 which penetrates the side wall of the
housing cube 2 of the drying cabinet 1. Couplings at this pipe
guide-through 22 by which the connection piece 21 can easily be
connected to the pipe guide-through 22 and by which this pipe
guide-through can easily be connected to a connection line, not
shown, for the cleaning agent are not shown because the known prior
art contains usable solutions for this. The drawings also do not
show means by which the pipe guide-through 22 can be closed in a
tight manner when the cleaning device 10 has been removed from the
drying cabinet 1.
[0025] FIG. 3 shows an advantageous construction of a spray arm 13
with its nozzles 14. Also shown is a flow duct 24 which
communicates with the cavity 16 of the support arm 12. Accordingly,
the cleaning agent can flow from the cavity 16 into the flow duct
24 and can then enter the interior 4 (FIG. 1) of the drying cabinet
1 through the individual nozzles 14.
[0026] Nozzles 14 which spray approximately horizontally are
advantageously provided at the radial ends of the spray arm 13,
which serves to distribute the cleaning agent in the interior 4 in
an optimal manner. Another nozzle 14 in the middle portion 25 of
the spray arm 13 also serves this purpose. The step whereby the two
legs of the spray arm 13 are arranged so as to be offset in height
also serves for optimal distribution of the cleaning agent. The leg
having nozzles 14 spraying upward is arranged farther down, while
the leg having nozzles 14 spraying downward is arranged farther
up.
[0027] FIG. 4 shows the drying cabinet 1 with open door 3, not
shown, and a device for transporting the cleaning device 10. Drying
cabinets 1 for the chemical, pharmaceutical and foodstuffs
industries can have substantial dimensions, e.g., approximately
2.times.2.times.2 m. The cleaning device 10 has corresponding
dimensions and, therefore, considerable weight. A transporting
device 40 of this kind is advantageous for enabling one person to
cope with inserting the cleaning device 10 into and removing it
from the drying cabinet 1. The transporting device 40 is movable by
means of wheels 41 on the surface 42 upon which the drying cabinet
1 stands. The transporting device 4 has coupling means 43 by which
the cleaning device 10 can be connected to the transporting device
40 in a frictional engagement.
[0028] It can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 that owing to the shape of
the cleaning device 10 it is not possible to remove the product
trays 6 from or insert then into the drying cabinet 1 when the
cleaning device 10 is inserted in the drying cabinet 1. However,
this is only true when the product trays 6 are so dimensioned that
they correspond approximately to the width and depth of the heating
plates 5. With smaller product trays 6, this problem does not
occur. Accordingly, before the drying cabinet 1 can be loaded or
unloaded when using product trays 6 of this size, the cleaning
device 10 must be removed from the drying cabinet 1. The
transporting device 40 which is shown schematically advantageously
serves for this purpose. The transporting device 40 is also applied
when a cleaning device 10 is used for a plurality of drying
cabinets 1 successively as was already mentioned above.
[0029] Further, in contrast to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 4 shows a
different placement of the connection of the cleaning device 10 for
supplying with cleaning agent. In this instance, the pipe
guide-through 22 is arranged in the rear wall of the drying cabinet
1 and the opening 20 is located at a front side of the carrier 11
facing the pipe guide-through 22. The opening 20 and the pipe
guide-through 22 can be constructed as a quick-coupling, so that
the cleaning device 10 is automatically coupled to a line for the
cleaning agent when the cleaning device 10 is moved into the drying
cabinet 1.
[0030] If the cleaning device 10 is to be an integral component
part of the drying cabinet 1, that is, not removable, the carrier
11 is advantageously designed in such a way that it does not impede
insertion and removal of large product trays 6. An advantageous
construction of this kind is shown in FIG. 5.
[0031] In this case, the carrier 11 is arranged in one of the
corners of the drying cabinet 1. The support arms 12 which are
fastened to the carrier 11 are swivelable. Accordingly, the carrier
11 with the support arms 12 rigidly fastened thereto can be
rotatable around its own axis or the support arms 12 can be
swivelable around the carrier 11. The idle position of the support
arms 12 with the spray arm 13 fastened thereto is indicated by
solid lines in FIG. 5; the position occupied when carrying out
cleaning is shown by dashed lines. In this case, the support arm 12
projects diagonally into the interior 4 of the drying cabinet 1
toward its center.
[0032] A variant of a spray arm 13 is shown in a schematic top view
in FIG. 6. As in the embodiment example in FIG. 3, the nozzles 14
of one arm spray downward and those of the other arm spray upward.
The nozzles 14 at the radial ends of the spray arm 13 do not spray
in radial direction, but rather at an appreciable inclination to
the longitudinal axis of the spray arm 13, which produces the force
for the rotation of the spray arm 13 around its axis of rotation A
as a result of the recoil of the spray jet.
[0033] Further constructions are possible within the framework of
the general idea of the invention. In sum, a drying cabinet (1)
with a cleaning device (10) having an improved cleaning action is
provided by means of the invention and its variants.
* * * * *